The Weekend Takeaway
In the March 5 BP First Take, I wrote, “On the heels of his first All-Star Game appearance last season, [Andrew McCutchen] has the potential to contend for MVP honors in the near future.” That wasn’t exactly the boldest of predictions, given McCutchen’s talent and career path, and it appears the near future has arrived.
After a relatively slow start, the 25-year-old McCutchen delivered a remarkable .360/.424/.709 May, displaying the tools that earned him a six-year, $51.5 million extension roughly three months earlier. What’s even more impressive, though, is that he has sustained that gaudy pace through 21 games in June.
Through 81 at-bats this month, McCutchen has five homers, five doubles, and two triples, good for a .358/.418/.654 triple slash that ranks 10th among players with at least 50 plate appearances. Joey Votto—perhaps McCutchen’s main rival in the NL MVP race at the moment—is the only player who has produced a higher OPS than the Pirates’ cen...
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June 24, 2012
